Final answer:
In computer programming, local variables are not automatically initialized to zero by default.
Step-by-step explanation:
In computer programming, local variables are not automatically initialized to zero by default. The initial value of a local variable can be any garbage value that happens to be in memory at the time the variable is declared. It is good programming practice to always explicitly initialize local variables to avoid unexpected behavior.
Example:
int x; // uninitialized local variable
printf("%d", x); // may print a garbage value
int y = 0; // initialized local variable
printf("%d", y); // always prints 0